Noteworthy Decisions from the July 2014 Board of Trustees Meeting
Noteworthy Decisions from the July 2014 Board of Trustees Meeting
By Judy Van Cleave, secretary, Urantia Foundation, Boise, Idaho, United States
Information and Decisions
Election of Associate Trustee
The Board of Trustees elected Ms. Sandra Burga-Cisneros to serve her third year as an associate trustee.
Book Sales and Distribution
Overall Urantia Book sales in Q2 improved from Q1, but the challenges of the global book industry continue. With a growing younger population that either does not read as much or only wants the latest new books, keeping a 1955 book on bookstore shelves is a costly and challenging proposition. In addition, worldwide book sales for most publishers are soft with bookstores having increasing financial difficulties as they compete in the digital age. Fortunately, the global sales of books via the Internet are slowly gaining headway beyond North America and Europe. Amazon and other Internet book providers will help keep The Urantia Book readily available. Digital books, even though limited in appeal, also offer alternative distribution opportunities.
Efforts are being made to increase the distribution of The Urantia Book internationally. A team of readers from Colombia, South America, applied for a wholesale licence to import Urantia Books and sell them in Colombia. Their intent is to significantly increase distribution while reducing the price of the book. Their first sales effort was at the Colombian book fair where they sold 230 books. Special thanks go to Wilson León and the team of Urantia Association Colombia. It is encouraging that readers in Colombia, in cooperation with Urantia Foundation, are expanding book distribution in a country whose bookstore infrastructure makes placement difficult. To read more about books in Colombia, please go to: https://www.urantia.org/news/2014-07/international-book-fair-in-bogota-colombia.
In Ukraine, Anton Miroshnichenko applied for an import licence, and 270 Russian books arrived safely in Ukraine. Thanks to Anton and his team, the price of The Urantia Book in Ukraine will drop from $60-$75 to $30. Even better, the first two months of sales were robust. To learn more about this exciting story, please go to: https://www.urantia.org/news/2014-07/urantia-book-blessing-ukraine.
Books for the Next Generation
If anyone is looking for a fun service project, you might consider placing Urantia Books in university libraries, youth hostels, coffee shops, and other locations frequented by young folks. Urantia Foundation will provide you with books at the lowest possible price if you place them in these locations. Here is our policy: https://web.archive.org/web/20240605050248/https://www.urantia.org/urantia-foundation/library-placement-policy. For exact pricing details, contact us at [email protected].
Secondary and Educational Works
For the last couple of years the board has been discussing the publication of secondary works that help people understand the teachings of The Urantia Book. The board has asked the Public Relations, Education, and Book committees to recommend policies and procedures for the acceptance and publication of new titles.
The Urantia Book Internet School
The September trimester of the Urantia Book Internet School (UBIS) began on Monday, September 15. There are five courses being offered in English, two in Spanish, and two in French. If you have never taken a UBIS course, you might consider it. The courses are free, but one must enroll by setting up a free account at https://new.ubis.urantia.org. Check back in December for information on courses being offered during the January 2015 trimester.
Translation and Revision Progress
Progress is being made on the translation and revision front. The newly revised French translation has been printed, and distribution has begun. Some specifics on translations and revisions:
- Chinese translation―on Paper 51 of the third draft.
- Indonesian translation―on Paper 146 of the first draft.
- Hebrew translation―on Paper 57 of the first draft.
- Japanese translation―first draft completed.
- Farsi translation―104 papers completed.
- Portuguese revision―on Paper 66.
- Russian revision―on Paper 155.
- Spanish revision―on Paper 78.
- External evaluations to monitor the quality of the translation have recently been completed in Chinese, French, and Hebrew.
Special thanks go to Georges Michelson-Dupont for his tireless efforts as manager of translations. Also, thanks go to the translation subcommittee consisting of Marilynn Kulieke (chair), Georges Michelson-Dupont, Henk Mylanus, and Jay Peregrine.
Website
Urantia Foundation’s website, www.urantia.org, is translated into sixteen languages. The Foundation is committed to improve the website to meet the needs of those who visit it. The first improvement will be to feature UBIS in a more prominent way. The team had numerous other suggestions that will be worked on over the next year.
Planned Giving
The board discussed the need and opportunity for the baby-boomer generation to set up their wills to benefit the fifth epochal revelation. From the donor’s perspective, what could be a more important legacy than giving part of your assets to the Urantia Revelation that transformed your life? Urantia Foundation will help you accomplish that worthy goal. To learn more, please visit: https://urantia.plannedgiving.org/.